Many people, particularly in rural locations, have mailboxes located along the street on which they live to help facilitate the delivery of the mail by the U.S. Postal Service. However, retrieving the mail from such mailbox locations can be both inconvenient and time consuming if, for example, the resident has to walk down his or her driveway, and perhaps the street, to access the mailbox. The task of retrieving the mail in this manner can be particularly inconvenient and even dangerous during periods of inclement weather. Consequently, many individuals attempt to access such mailboxes from their vehicle.
Nonetheless, accessing a mailbox from a vehicle presents its own set of challenges. For example, it can be difficult to actually retrieve the mail from a mailbox while positioned within a vehicle. More specifically, a driver must first position the vehicle as close to the mailbox as possible so that the driver can extend his or her arm outside of the vehicle and into the mailbox to retrieve the mail. If the driver misjudges the distance between the vehicle and the mailbox, the driver could end up hitting the mailbox with his or her vehicle thereby damaging the mailbox and/or the vehicle. Once the vehicle is properly positioned, the driver must typically unbuckle his or her seat belt, lift themselves upward from the vehicle seat and stretch outside the vehicle window and into the mailbox to retrieve the mail. If the driver chooses to open the vehicle door instead to access the mailbox, the driver risks hitting the vehicle door on the mailbox or mailbox post.
To alleviate some of the forgoing problems associated with retrieving mail from a mailbox while positioned within a vehicle, others have developed mailboxes with moveable trays that can extend outwardly from the mailbox. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,555 discloses a moveable mailbox tray in the form of a trolley that rides on a plurality of rollers that enables the tray to move in and out of the mailbox. The device disclosed in the '555 patent is further comprised of a first spring for connecting the moveable trolley to a hinged mailbox door and an opposing second spring for connecting the opposite end of the trolley to a fixed wall of the mailbox. However, such device has inherent limitations. For example, the rollers can become clogged with dirt or other debris over time and lose their functionality. In addition, the presence of the first and second springs could be a hazard as the user much reach over at least the first spring when retrieving the mail and could get his or her skin or clothing pinched or caught on the spring. Further, the presence of the second spring, which is in tension when the mailbox is open, could cause the moveable trolley to prematurely retreat into the mailbox, thereby prematurely closing the mailbox door (due to the presence of the first spring) on the user's hand. Finally, the moveable trolley device does not tilt or eject the mail from the device and in the direction of the user.
Consequently, there exists in the art a long-felt need for a moveable and tiltable mailbox tray for receipt of mail and which is automatically repositioned at least partially beyond the interior of the mailbox when the mailbox door is opened. There also exists in the art a long felt need for a moveable mailbox tray that tilts downwardly in the direction of the user to position the contents of the mailbox even closer to the user, thereby adding to the overall convenience of the device. Moreover, there exists in the art a long felt kid for a kit that enables a user to install a moveable and tiltable mailbox tray unto an existing mailbox to spare the user the expense of having to purchase a new mailbox with a moveable, tiltable mailbox tray. Finally, there is a long-felt need for a moveable mailbox tray that accomplishes all of the forgoing objectives and that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and safe and easy to use.